Duo Charged With Smuggling $4 Million Worth of Beer In UK To Face 7 Years Behind Bars

Two Alcohol Commissioners examine confiscated alcohol. (Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire URN:6302728)

Radoslaw Dobron and Ilona Leszczynska were charged with smuggling the equivalent of $4 million worth of beer into the United Kingdom without paying duties. The accused beer smugglers will face charges of up to seven years in prison, according to an article in The Drinks Business that ran Thursday.

The duo took advantage of a commercial import scheme to smuggle about 122 truckloads of brands that included Tyskie, Lech, Perla and Zubr into the country. After the boozy contraband was smuggled in, it was sold illicitly to shops.

Officers for the HM Revenue & Customs agency in the U.K. arrested Dobron and Lezczynska in February 2018 for laundering the $4.2 million they earned in profits.

Dobron pleaded guilty to three charges: cheating the public revenue, money laundering and Value Added Tax fraud in July 2022. He was jailed for three years and eight months.

Leszczynska was also convicted of cheating the public revenue and VAT fraud, but not money laundering. She was sentenced to three years and four months of jail time.

“Smuggling millions of cans of cheap beer gave them an unfair advantage over the law-abiding majority and deprived our vital public services of funds,” said Carmine di Franco, assistant director of HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service.

The illegal alcohol market does more than its fair share of harm to the country’s taxpayers, many of whom are also reeling from inflation.

“Disrupting thecriminal trade is at the heart of our strategy to clamp down on the illicit alcohol market which costs the UK £1 billion per year.”

Many of the funds from excise duty fees are used in the country to pay for public services, and according to the HM Revenue & Customs Agency, duty fraud “undermines efforts to encourage responsible drinking.”

Alcohol fraud is a huge problem within the EU, with a projected annual loss of the U.S. equivalent of $3.2 billion every year, claimed a report that was shared by The Spirits Business in February.

Alcohol-related fraud doesn’t just affect businesses in Europe, individuals are also vulnerable. In June, a viral Guinness Scam circulated through the country. In this scam, participants were asked for personal information in exchange for false promises of a full fridge of beer for Father’s Day.

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